President Klaus defends the right of small European nations to own opinion

Czech president Vaclav Klaus has advocated the right of small European nations to defend their own interests. Speaking at the World Forum, organised by the American Enterprise Institute, in Beaver Creek, Colorado, Mr Klaus also rejected a recently inflated idea of dividing Europe into "old" and "new", alluding to US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld's statements before the war in Iraq. The Czech president also called for close Euro-Atlantic cooperation and warned against what is called an old European anti-Americanism, a phenomenon that has emerged after the US-led invasion of Iraq.